Team:Newcastle/Meetings/10 March 2010

Formal Meeting - 10th March 2010

• Start time: 4 - 5.30 p.m.
• Room 922
• Attendance
  • Present: Da (minutes), Harsh, Rachel, Younus, Zoltan, Richard (computer), Steven (chair), Janetta (left early), Phil
  • Absence: Alan (apology accepted)
• Agenda

T-Shirts

• Last year, even though the plan was early, the T-shirts were still picked up on the day before the travel to Boston. Thus, it is a complicated process. Now would be a good idea to consider the name & logo, design and identify companies. The sponsor name will have to be on the T-shirts, and they will be informed about our project. Finally, we need to stand out, thus the colour selection is vital - possibly pink for this year.

Timeline

• It should be sorted by end date, with more sub steps. Also, the dotproject version should be merged onto the iGEM wiki.

Micro-cracks in Concrete

• Now that we have the project, we will need to do extensive research.
• Matt's suggestion: Since lots of concretes are porous, the first step would be to get the bugs to produce glue and use them as a surface treatment to show that it actually works and stops water. The second step would be to get them into cracks.
• Health, ethics and genetic factors need to take in consideration - will be written on Wiki soon.
• Currently, there are many papers regarding concrete. Therefore, the team members will need to pull them together and investigate, e.g. the long term effects on the structure.
• The genetics of the glue production needs to be looked into and also the feasibility.
• Motility ideas - oxygen sensing/gradients.
• Surface tension can be solved by the use of detergents and surfactants.
• Nutrients can be delivered by simply spreading the broth onto the building.
• Voight spider silk.
• While research, a drop box should be used so that all the .pdf files can be placed in one common place.

Registration to iGEM 2010

• Phil hasn't applied.

Visa/Passport

• Harsh and Zoltan are in the progress of visa application.

Action Points

1. All members: Have a look for the Wiki winner of last year to see its structure before we merge into iGEM Wiki. In the next informal meeting, we will brainstorm ideas about the structure of the Wiki.
2. All members: T-shirt name brainstorming in the next informal meeting.
3. All members: Environment, Manufacture and Fundamental Technology were nominated for track selection. We need to decide the research strands and divide between the team members.
4. Neil and Jen: A bit early to look into the travel plan, but airplane fares should be looked into. We aim to get to Boston before the presentation day!
5. Neil and Jen: Search for a civil engineer and a graphics designer. However, it would be easier now that we have finalised the project.
6. Neil and Jen: Recruiting Colin Harward as an advisor - he is an expert on secretion methods.
7. Phil: Register to the Newcastle iGEM 2010 website.
8. Jen: Needs to approve those who have not yet signed up.
9. Jen: Check Janetta's newly sent timeline, as well as the timeline from Phil.
10. Harsh (Neil and Jen): Needs an approval letter from Neil or Jen to prove that he has enough funding for staying in Boston, as well as being able to fly back to U.K.
11. Harsh: Will be managing funding - look into companies (e.g. construction companies) for further sponsorship.
12. Zoltan: Need to finish the web visa application.
13. Zoltan: Create Drop Box, as well as merging the contents from the current Wiki onto the iGEM Wiki (however, this should be done after the discussion on the Wiki structure).
14. Zoltan: Book Room 922 for next formal meeting on Friday (19/03/2010), from 4.30 p.m.

Other business

• Alan and Younus were accepted into the team on the iGEM website by Jen.
• Janetta had suggested a company for the T-shirts designing.
• Zoltan has already put our idea onto the official iGEM Wiki. We were the first one to edit, therefore no other teams are allowed to do the same project, moreover, we will not be stealing any other team's idea! Now it's a matter of structuring the page, as well as placing some photographs.
• We should probably have a Twitter page this year, like some other iGEM teams.
• Phil has a chemical engineer friend and a civil engineer friend (who's very keen on concrete!) - funding might be a problem, as around £5000 is required for each iGEM member.
• The next two formal meetings will not take place on Wednesday due to the absence of either Neil and/or Jen. The next formal meeting will take place on Friday, 19th March at 4:30pm. This also means that the tutorials will not be delivered in the mean time.

Next Meeting

• Chair: Richard, Minutes: Phil, Computer: Rachel
• Informal meeting: Monday (10/03/2010) at 4 p.m. Venue yet to be confirmed, but is mostly likely to be somewhere casual, e.g. Starbucks. If laptops are convenient, please bring them along. Also, Richard, as the Chair should send an email, informing the rest of the team members about the location for the meeting.